Improvement in gathering mechanism for sewing-machines



H.- S. BROWN. Gathering Mechanism for Sewing Machines. I

"No. 42,043. Patentd Mar ch 22,1864,

Inventor:

3 Witnesses:

Nv PUERS, Fhob-Lhhugraphan Washingiw. D. C-

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY S. BROWN, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO ALFRED ARNOLD,

OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY..

IMPROVEMENT IN GATHERING MECHANISM Foe SEWlNG-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of LettersPatent No. 42,043, dated March 22,1864.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY S. BROWN, of the city of New York and theState of New York, have invented anew and useful Improvement in theGathering Mechanism of Sewing- Machines; and I do hereby declare thatthe following is a full and exact description of the construction,arrangement, and operation of thesame, reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,making a part of this specification.

Before proceeding to particularly describe my invention, I will premiseby saying that the mechanism heretofore used for gathering clothin sucha position with reference to the stitching apparatus that the clothshall be fed just past the needle before the cloth is gathcred, andbeyond the needle left free from the pressure of the foot, so thatit canbe gathered by the stitching apparatus while in the act of drawing upthe loop or forming the stitch; and, secondly, in the employmentofasecondary or additional removable presscr-foot or shoe capable of beingplaced upon the presserfoot, so constructed and arranged as to be easilyattached to or detached from an ordinary sewing-machine, so that whenattached it renders the stitching apparatus capable of gathering in themanner hereinafter described, and when detached of sewing a plain scamin nngathe'red work.

To enable others skilled in the art to make I and use my invention, Iwill proceed to describe its construction, arrangement, and operation,reference being had to theaccompanyingdrawin g. v A, B, and (J arerespectively the needle, presser-foot, and feeding device of an ordinaryI sewing-machine.

D is the secondary or additional removable pres'ser-foot or removablerest to the presserfoot above mentioned. In this instance it isa pieceof metal so formed as to exactly fill the presser-foot, and coveringonly a portionthereot say about half its lengthand is attached theretoby merely slipping it on and over the end of B; but, if desired, it maybe fastened to B by means of a set-screw,the part D to be so constructedand arranged that its lower or bottom side will project below thebottom'of B and extend from the point (I to about the point b, as seenin the drawing; or B andD may be dispensed with as separate devices anda single presser-t'oot so constructed as to operate in like mannerbesnhstituted therefor. As the purpose of D is merely tochange theposition of that portion of the feed mechanism which feeds the cloth inits relation to the position of the stitching apparatus, either of theforegoing modifications, as well as any other mechanical equivalents.may be used or employed for this purpose; but I prefer the arrangementshown in the drawing.

In operating my Improved gathering mechanism the cloth to be gathered isplaced between the presser-foot or rest D and the feeder U in the samemanner that it would be placed in an ordinary sewing-machine for sewinga plain nngnthered seam. When put in operation the'cloth is clampedbetween 0 and D and fed along past the needle a distance equal to thelength of cloth which is desired to form asinglegather. Thentheneedlepassesthrough the cloth, and in, the act of forming the stitchthe thread draws that portion of the cloth which has been fed alongpastD, andlies loosely between C and B backward asufficient of the pull ofthe thread. The fullness of the gathers may be regulated by changingeither the tension of the thread or the throw of the feeder, or both, ifdesired. Though the tensicn 'of the thread must depend to some extent onthe nature of the fabric to be gathered, it must of course, under allcircumstances, be sufficiently tight to draw the cloth backward, asdescribed.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1.The making of gathers by the action of the needle and thread in themanner and by the devices herein described.

2. The gatheringofapiece of cloth and fastening the gathers in place bythe action of the stitching apparatus of a sewing-machine when thefeeding mechanism is arranged and 0peratedrelatively to the stitchingapparatus substantially as herein described.

3. The presser-foct or rest D, or its equivalent, substantially asherein described, and for the purpose herein specified.

HENRY S. BROWN.

YVitnesses:

SMITH E. LANE, J. B. ELWOOD.

